Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Découverte d’un petit ensemble lithique du Mésolithique moyen sur le site d’Ath « Les Haleurs » (Hainaut, BE)
- Denis S., Van Assche M., Deramaix I. & Jadin I., 2021. Découverte d’un petit ensemble lithique du Mésolithique moyen sur le site d’Ath « Les Haleurs » (Hainaut, BE). Notae Praehistoricae, 41/2021 : 93-105. (PDF) / Résumé. L’Agence wallonne du Patrimoine a dirigé une opération de fouilles préventives à Ath « Les Haleurs » entre 2015 et 2017. Cette opération a permis la mise au jour de deux villages du Néolithique ancien, un du Rubané et l’autre du Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain. Mais l’étude de l’industrie lithique a révélé l’existence d’un petit corpus de pièces attribuables au Mésolithique. Une soixantaine de pièces, découverte dans les fosses du Néolithique, présente les caractéristiques du techno-complexe « Rhein-Meuse-Schelde » de type A (RMS-A). Les Rubanés ainsi que les Blicquiens d’Ath se sont donc installés au même endroit et ont transpercé ce gisement mésolithique au cours de leurs occupations respectives. – Mots-clefs : Ath « Les Haleurs », Prov. de Hainaut (BE), Mésolithique, industrie lithique, RMS-A (« Rhein-Meuse-Schelde », type A). = Abstract. The Walloon Heritage Agency led a preventive excavation operation at Ath “Les Haleurs” between 2015 and 2017. This operation allows the discovery of two Early Neolithic – one LBK and one Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain- villages. But the study of the lithic industry revealed the existence of a small corpus of pieces related to the Mesolithic. About sixty pieces, discovered in the Neolithic pits, show the characteristics of the techno-complex “Rhein-Meuse-Schelde” type A (RMS-A). The LBK and Blicquians communities of Ath therefore settled in the same place and passed through this Mesolithic deposit during their respective occupations. – Keywords: Ath « Les Haleurs », Prov. of Hainaut (BE), Mesolithic, lithic industry, RMS-A (“Rhein-Meuse-Schelde”, type A).
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Het meest duurzame materiaal van België. Belgisch Porfier.
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Doopvont in de St. Stephanuskerk te Dieteren
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Presentation of the book celebrating GSBʼs 125 years. In: 125 years Geological Survey of Belgium, 9-10 June 2022.
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Multi-isotope analysis of bone collagen of Late Pleistocene ungulates reveals niche partitioning and behavioural plasticity of reindeer during MIS 3
- Here we present stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios of collagen extracted from Rangifer, Equus and Bison bone (n = 128) from different stratigraphic levels at the chronologically well-constrained Middle and Upper Palaeolithic site of Les Cottés, France. Samples were taken from five phases of site use (US08, US06, US04 [upper and lower], and US02; ~ 45.8–35.3 ka cal BP) to explore the dietary and spatial palaeoecology of these ungulate species during MIS 3, and the contemporary climate. Temporal trends in δ15N values of all species broadly align with other climatic indicators at the site and the lowest values in US04 correspond to the Heinrich 4 cooling event, reflecting changes in the composition of soil/plant nitrogen at this time. Rangifer collagen is 13C-enriched compared to the other species throughout, consistent with lichen consumption. However, this isotopic niche partitioning between Rangifer and Equus/Bison is most extensive during US04, indicating plasticity in reindeer feeding behaviour, and potentially overall increased lichen biomass during this cooler/more arid phase. Rangifer δ34S values are consistently lower than Equus and Bison, which could be indicative of their more extensive spatial ranges incorporating greater inland areas. Equus and Bison demonstrate a significant decrease in δ34S values through time, which may be linked to contemporary climatic decline.
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Report on the 2022 excavations at Wogan Cavern (Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, UK)
- In a previous article in this journal (Dinnis et al., 2022), we described the first season of archaeological excavations at Wogan Cavern (Pembroke, southwest Wales). Although based on excavation of a very small volume of deposits, we suggested that the sediments in Wogan Cavern may have very good potential for preserving archaeological remains. Specifically, an intact early Holocene archaeological layer and underlying, bone-bearing Pleistocene deposits encouraged us to believe that the cave might be an important early prehistoric site. Here, we provide an update on our previous work, detailing the findings of the 2022 excavation season. The 2022 work identified several phases of historic and prehistoric activity. The early Holocene archaeological layer containing diagnostic Mesolithic artefacts, found previously in the eastern part of the cave, was shown to extend towards the centre of the cave. Stratigraphically lower deposits dating to the Pleistocene, previously demonstrated close to the cave's eastern wall, were also shown to extend towards the cave's centre. Excavation of the Pleistocene deposits close to the cave's eastern wall revealed evidence for human occupation, with one and possibly two Upper Palaeolithic layers present. The archaeological assemblage(s) from these lower deposits bear similarities to the Palaeolithic stone tool assemblage from the famous Paviland Cave, located c.30 miles (c.50km) to the east. Overall, our 2022 work confirms that Wogan Cavern is an early prehistoric site of national, and potentially international, significance.
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Tussen steenontginner en steenbewerker, een gedeelde verantwoordelijkheid voor handhavingvan het bouwkundig erfgoed, vandaag en morgen
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De toepassing van natuursteen voor de bouw en de restauratie van het Justitiepaleis van Brussel
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The Advantages of Owning a Palaeolithic Dog
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Method assessment and observer variation in age estimation: A comparative analysis of the Suchey-Brooks and the İşcan methods on an archaeological medieval population
- Age-at-death estimation methods have faced challenges in their applicability to past populations. This study aims to evaluate the assessment and observer variability of the Suchey-Brooks (SB) and İşcan methods within archaeological contexts. Our sample consisted of 400 individuals from the medieval cemetery of the Dunes Abbey in Koksijde, Belgium. The skeletal remains exhibited good preservation, especially for the İşcan methods, which showed higher sensitivity to preservation conditions. Intra- and inter-observer variation were investigated using Spearman correlation coefficients, Wilcoxon paired ranks test, and Cohen's kappa test. The Spearman coefficient revealed a strong positive correlation, with a moderate to almost excellent kappa coefficient for both intra- and inter-observer error. Overall, the SB method displayed better inter-observer agreement, while the İşcan method presented better intra-observer agreement. Applying these methods to younger individuals resulted in less variability. Certain descriptive phase categories, such as phase III for the SB method and phase 3 and 4 for the İşcan methods, seemed problematic. Only 188 sufficiently preserved individuals could be scored using both the SB and the İşcan methods. They were classified into age groups, and the methods assessment were evaluated using the same statistical approach. The Spearman correlation coefficient indicated consistent age group attribution between the two methods (rho = 0.92), with a moderate to almost excellent agreement (k = 0.45; wk = 0.91). Overall, the two methods mainly differ by only one age group, except for older adults. The SB method tended to assign older age groups compared to İşcan's method, leading to effective overestimation.
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Periphytic community structure of Ostracoda (Crustacea) in the river-floodplain system of the Upper Paraná River
- Aim: We assessed the effect of environmental factors on the structure of periphytic ostracods communities along the river-floodplain system of the Upper Paraná River. We predict that the higher distance from Porto Primavera dam downstream would lead to higher diversity and density of the ostracods. Methods: Periphytic ostracods (associated with root systems of the floating Eichhornia spp) were sampled during November 2013 to May 2015. Three samples were collected at each sampling site (channel of the Paraná River, tributaries and lakes). Eichhornia plants were removed from the water by hand and the plants were placed in a plastic bucket. Roots were washed for the removal of ostracods, and samples were filtered through a hand net with 160 µm mesh size. Results: The faunistic survey recorded 44 ostracods species and richness estimators indicated that sampling effort appears to be suitable to reveal the diversity of ostracods in this studied area. The highest richness and density were observed in the stretch downstream of the dam in the main channel of Paraná River and in the lakes. Beta diversity was not significantly different along the longitudinal gradient downstream and higher similarity of ostracods species composition was observed in the lakes located in the stretch downstream of the dam. Conclusions: An increase in the richness and density of ostracods were recorded in the sections downstream of the Paraná River, evidencing the importance of undammed tributaries on the ostracods community. The similarity of beta diversity amongst sampling sites may be owing to permanent hydrological connectivity amongst these environments, favouring the exchange of organisms mainly through the drift of free-floating macrophytes, and owing to the passive dispersal of drought resistant eggs of ostracods. Local abiotic factors had significant effects on abundance and distribution of some ostracod species.
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European Journal of Taxonomy. A success story en pleidooi voor ondersteuning op het vlak van institutionele publicatie.
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Ecosystem services provided by a large endangered primate in a forest-savanna mosaic landscape.
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Projet de caractérisation et de divrsification de l'habitat floristique pour l'entomofaune au Jardin Botanique expérimental Jean Massart
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GBS data confirms past hybridization among congeneric chichlid species from Lake Tanganyika
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Is differential gene expression in the female brain linked to assortative amting in a mouthbrooding cichlid (Ophthalmotilapia) from Lake tanganyikda
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The hazards of oil exploitation in Africa's ancient lakes
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First Glimpse At An Enigmatic Champanzee Population in Forest Fragements of the Albert Lake Escarpment (Rafale), Ituri, Dr Congo
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Who is the reservoir of Monkeypox? Work in progress
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Investigating suspended particulate matter in coastal waters using the fractal theory
